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Slingers
|upkeep_cost = |num_figures = |moves = |melee = |ranged = |defense = |resist = |hits = |abilities = Ranged Attack x6 Lucky }} Slingers are a type of Normal Unit. This unit is unique to the Halfling Race, and can only be built in Halfling towns, for the Construction Cost of . The town must already contain an Armory for this to be possible. Slingers have a weak and an even weaker , at least before the unit gains Experience. However this weakness is somewhat deceptive, for two reasons: For one, the unit contains , and each Slinger makes a separate attack. The other reason is the unit's Lucky trait, which bestows a bonus, increasing its damage output (among other bonuses). A horde of Experienced Slingers can be dangerous to most other units - though each Slingers unit is individually vulnerable. Slingers require an Upkeep Cost of and to maintain. Failure to pay these costs will result in the unit being disbanded automatically. Unit Properties Physical Description Slingers are a group of short humanoids, no more than a few feet in height. They are dressed in pink and red tunics, and have no need to wear shoes thanks to their rugged, furry feet. Slingers carry leather straps which they wrap around small pebbles. These are then spun around the Slingers' heads, and released at just the right time to hurl the pebbles at armor-piercing speeds towards the enemy. Slingers also carry short swords for situations where hand-to-hand combat is unavoidable. Slingers are a , containing when fully healed. Attack Properties The Slingers' Ranged Attack appears to be a . However, it is actually a special damage type (used by no other units) that functions in all ways like a . The Slingers possess a deceptively-weak Ranged Attack, which they can use up to 6 times in each battle. In emergencies they can also use a weaker Melee Attack. Each Slinger's Ranged Attack has a strength of . With the Lucky trait, the unit's To Hit score is increased by . This puts each Slinger's average damage output at about per attack. This damage output is rather weak, and means that each Recruit-level Slinger figure only has a 64% chance to inflict any damage on its target. Note that when attacking enemies beyond 2 tiles away, To Hit range penalties kick in, reducing this output even further. Any target with decent armor should be able to shrug off any successful hits. However, the Slingers' main advantage is that they are numerous. There are per unit, and together this greatly increases the chance of a few hits getting through the target's armor. Furthermore, with Experience this attack will become significantly stronger, to a point where few Normal Units will be able to block all of the damage, even at long range. In emergencies, or when they've run out of ammunition, Slingers can resort to a weaker Melee Attack. Each Slinger attacks with a strength of . This too enjoys the Lucky trait's bonus of , resulting in an average damage output of only per Slinger. Again, this is quite weak and unlikely to pierce through any decent armor. Defense Properties Slingers wear the same light armor as any other Halfling unit, giving them a Defense score of . The Lucky trait also provides a To Block bonus of , but this still allows the Slingers to block only about from any incoming attack. As with most Normal Units, each Slinger possesses only . In other words, each point of inflicted on this unit will kill off one of its . However, with in a unit of Slingers they are hardier than they might appear at first, and benefit greatly from the added bonuses to their Defense score as they gain Experience. As per the rules of combat, each time an incoming attack deals enough damage to kill one Slinger, the Slingers unit get to roll again for Defense to block more damage -- so each Defense point comes into play at least 8 times before the unit is destroyed. If you add in the To Block bonus from the Lucky trait, the result is that each extra Defense point has a greater impact on this unit than it has elsewhere in the game. Experienced Slingers are therefore remarkably difficult to kill, despite being individually weak! For purposes of defending against Curses and other combat maledictions, the Slingers have an above-average Resistance score of , and receive an extra during battle thanks to the Lucky trait. This can protect them from some ill effects, but will probably fail about as often as it succeeds. With Experience however, Slingers can become surprisingly resistant - possibly even immune - to a large variety of ill effects. Other Properties Slingers move at a slow , and can only traverse land tiles. The unit has no special movement properties. Basic Strategy Slingers are essentially a step up from Halfling Bowmen, but provide enough of an advantage to make them both distinct and superior to Bowmen, and essentially make up the backbone of all Halfling armies. Slingers start out weak, capable of doing little damage to enemy units. They can tag along with stronger armies to slowly gain Experience, and will slowly become significantly more useful in combat. A unit of Slingers with full Experience can seriously harm - if not kill - most enemy Normal Units with a single Ranged Attack. This is thanks to the To Hit bonuses from both the Lucky ability and the Experience Levels themselves, but also because there are in a Slingers unit - 33% more than there are in a Bowmen or Longbowmen unit. All these factors pooled together yield a surprisingly large output, which can be inflicted at a distance and up to 6 times per battle. If an enemy unit does not close the distance very quickly, the Slingers can take it out before it can reach them. When several units of Slingers band together in an army, they pose a serious threat even to lightly-armored Fantastic Units or Heroes. Still, it is recommended not to neglect supporting the Slingers with Melee-oriented defenders, who must engage any units that pass through the Slingers' hail of bullets. Slingers, even Experienced ones, are still somewhat at a disadvantage when it comes to Melee combat. Slingers often feature heavily in armies owned by -wielding wizards, as they do well with almost any bonuses they get from this realm's many Unit Enchantments and Combat Enchantments. In particular, increasing their To Hit score makes them more and more capable of causing damage to well-armored units, and of killing enemy Normal Units with just one or two attacks. Remember that Slingers are badly-armored. They are susceptible to Ranged Attacks themselves, as well as direct-damage spells. Again, with Experience, Slingers can at least become highly-resistant (if not immune) to enemy Curses and other ill effects. Ability Overview Ranged Attack x6 * This unit may use a instead of a Melee Attack up to 6 times in each battle. Once the unit's ammo is expended, it must resort to Melee Attacks. Lucky * During combat, this unit receives , , and . * Furthermore, it causes a penalty on any enemy that engages the Lucky unit in melee combat. This feature was removed in the 1.40 Insecticide patch. * The To Hit bonus increases the unit's average damage output, putting it closer to the unit's maximum damage potential without increasing that maximum. * The To Block bonus allows the unit to block more damage on average, though it doesn't increase the maximum amount of damage it can block. * The Resistance bonus is more straightforward, simply increasing the unit's Resistance score by . Note however that this bonus is only applied during combat, and won't help the unit resist enemy spells on the overland map. Experience Table The following table illustrates how Slingers improve as they gain Experience. Any properties that are not listed here do not improve with Experience in any way. * To achieve this level, either the Warlord Retort or the Crusade spell must be in play. ** To achieve this level, both the Warlord Retort and the Crusade spell must be in play simultaneously. Average Damage Output The table below details the average amount of damage that each in a Slingers unit will deliver with each type of attack, based on . It can be used in comparison to the target's Defense rating to figure out the chance of hurting that target. Acquisition Slingers are unique to the Halfling faction, and thus may be produced in any Halfling Town. A town must contain an Armory to be able to produce Slingers. Should a town lose its Armory, it can no longer produce Slingers until a replacement structure is built. The Construction Cost of this unit is . Slingers may appear for hire as Mercenaries. They may already have some Experience on being hired, and several units may be hired simultaneously. Hiring these units requires a certain cost in that depends on many different factors. Slinger Mercenaries have the same Upkeep Cost as a normally-constructed unit. Category:Units Category:Normal Units Category:Halflings